251193 Electronic Health Record: Implications for Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance

Monday, October 31, 2011: 10:45 AM

Kerry Souza, ScD, MPH , Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, CDC-NIOSH, Washington, DC
Eileen Storey, MD, MPH , Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, CDC - NIOSH, Morgantown, WV
Margaret S. Filios, ScM, RN , Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, CDC-NIOSH, Morgantown, WV
Health care in the U.S. is undergoing a transition from paper to interoperable electronic health records (EHR), bearing implications for the type and quality of information captured, clinical care associated with that information, and public health utility of the clinical record. The collection and capture of patient work information in the EHR, in turn, will have implications for the delivery of occupational health care and surveillance for occupational health outcomes. NIOSH, along with states and other partners, has been working to ensure that information regarding patients' work is included in the EHR. This session will present the steps and strategy to ensure inclusion of work information (i.e., industry, occupation, employer) in the EHR, focusing on meeting requirements for Meaningful Use, as laid out by the President's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Challenges associated with this success of this initiative will be discussed. Ongoing projects aimed to pilot systems, overcome technical challenges etc. will be described.

Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
1. Define Meaningful Use and the implications for the inclusion of work information in the electronic health record (EHR) 2. Discuss the national/state-based strategies to ensure inclusion of work information in the EHR.

Keywords: Information Technology, Occupational Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked in occupational health surveillace for almost ten years, and currently serve on the NIOSH EHR Workgroup.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Surveillance of work-related injuries and illnesses
See more of: Occupational Health and Safety